Block-carrying devices for sheet or web fed rotary printing machines



June 5, 1956 J. o. BOBST 2,748,699

BLOCK-CARRYING DEVICES SHEET 0R WEB FED ROTARY PRINTIN ACHINES Filed Feb; 24, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet l L/OfEP/l 0770 150557- QW, '7 M10 June 5. 1956 J. o. BOBST 2,748,699

BLOCK-CAR NG DEVICES F SHEET OR WEB FED "'ARY PRINTIN .ACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 24 1953 JOfEPl/ 0770 50557 June 5. 1956 J. o. BOBST 2,748,699 NG DEVI BLOCK-CAR FO HEET OR WEB FED '"ARY FRI NC 1 CHINES Filed Feb. 24, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 June 5, 1956 J. o. BOBST 2,748,599

- BLOCK-CARRYING DEVICES FOR SHEET OR WEB FED ROTARY PRINTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 24, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 JOSEPH 0779 60557 5 3 ymzigj/m J. O. BOBST BLOCK-CARRYING DEVICES FOR SHEET OR WEB FED ROTARY PRINTING MACHINES June 5, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 24, 1953 United States Patent BLOCK-CARRYING DEVICES FOR SHEET 0R WEB FED ROTARY PRINTING MACHINES 7 Everyone knows that in letterpress printing machines printing off a flat forme-the printing elements (blocks).

constituting the forme and held in the chase (metallic frame) can be fixed and prepared away from the producing machine, which considerably reduces the time during which the latter stands idle. This preparation also consists in correcting each printing element of the forme by an appropriate make-ready in order to ensure a good quality of the impression from the first sheets. When the block support is constituted by a one-piece base, the size of which generally corresponds to the size of the impression furnished by the machine, and on which the printing elements are fixed, the work in question may also be done away from the production press.

This, however, has not yet been possible in the case of rotary sheet or web fed machines. Actually, rotary production presses need to stand idle during the whole of the time'required for the correct placing and fixing of 'all the blocks on the plate cylinder of the rotary press. It would of course be possible, in these machines, to consider removing each plate cylinder from the machine and, in order to save time, replacing it by a spare cylinder already fitted with the blocks. Such a removal and replacement of, the cylinders would however, owing to the weight of the latter, be very laborious and require a lot of time, and the ultimate saving in time would therefore scarcely be worth while.

In addition, for first rate work, in order to obtain an impression of good quality, a make-ready, often requiring protracted pasting on and cutting out work on each impression cylinder of the rotary press, is indispensable, and this correspondingly increases the time during which the rotary press stands idle.

The object of the present invention is to suppress the majority of these idle periods and consequently to increase the efliciency of rotary presses. It concerns a block-carrying device for sheet or web fed rotary printing machines, and comprising a cylinder, a rigid blockcarrying sleeve, means independent of the cylinder for fastening blocks quickly and securely to this sleeve, and means for removably fastening the said sleeve (fitted with the blocks and ready for the impression) to the said cylinder and for removing it easily from the said cylinder without undoing the latter.

- T ac o p y n ra n picts, y y example, several embodiments of the device according to he nven i Fig. l is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of the first embodiment, and is destined to illustrate the principle of this embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a view of a cross-section, along 22 in Fig. 8, of this first embodiment, and showing the parts in a first position.

Fig. 3 isaview similar to Fig. 2 but showing the parts -e mend. a i n- Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing theparts in a third position.

Fig. 5 is a view of a cross-section, along 55 in Fig. 8, and showing certain parts in a first position.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the said parts in a second position.

Fig. 7 is an end view of this first embodiment seen from the left in Fig. 8.

Fig. 8 is a view of a partial. longitudinal section, along 3.8 in Fig. 7, of this first embodiment.

Fig. 9 is a view of a partial longitudinal section of a second embodiment.

Fig. 10 is a view of a partial cross-section of a third embodiment.

Fig. 11 is a view of a partial longitudinal section along 1111 in Fig. 10.

The device depicted in the Figs. 1 to 8 comprises, in principle, a cylinder 1, belonging to a sheet or web fed rotary printing machine, this cylinder being mounted in a frame, which is not shown, so as to be able to revolve about its geometrical axis 2. This cylinder 1 is fixed at each end, by means of screws such as 3, to a flange 4 provided with a circular bearing face 5 destined to cooperate with roller bearing means, which are not shown, of the rotary machine. In addition, the cylinder is fitted at each end with a portion of driving shaft 6 serving to rotate it about its geometrical axis 2.

The cylinder 1 is provided with a longitudinal channel 7, the cross-section of which is fusiform and symmetrical, i. e. the part which in Fig. l is required to make the cylinder 1 whole is fusiform and symmeric-al and bounded by two arcs of a circle. In other words, the radius of curvature of this channel, as seen in crosssection in Fig. l, is equal to the outer radius of the cylinder 1 itself.

The device in question comprises, in addition, a sleeve 8, formed by a rigid part in the shape of a portion of a hollow cylinder extending over more than half a circumference, as can be seen in the drawing. In fact, in the example shown, this portion of a hollow cylinder extends over three quarters of a circumference. The inner radius of this sleeve 8 is equal (not taking into account the tolerances necessary for mounting it) to the radius of the cylinder 1. This sleeve is destined to be adapted to the cylinder 1 without having to remove the latter from the machine, as will now be described.

To place the sleeve 8 on the cylinder 1, this sleeve is firstbrought, in relation to the cylinder 1, to the position shown in Fig. 1, which can be done with ease. The geometrical axis of the sleeve 3 is then situated in 9. The sleeve 8 is then rotated about its point of contact 10 with the cylinder 1 in such a manner that the geometric axis 9 moves along the arc of a circle 11, which is concentric with 10, until it coincides with the geometric axis 2 of the cylinder. This is possible on condition that, simultaneously with this movement of the axis 9 along the are 11, the sleeve is gradually rotated about-its own axis in the anticlockwise direction in Fig. 1, in such a manner that its extreme edge 12 approaches the line of contact 10 as the axis 9 comes nearer to 2. When the axes 9 and 2 coincide and the edges 10 and 12 are in contact, the sleeve is in place on the periphery of the cylinder 1.

To remove the sleeve thus brought into position, the same operations can be eifected in exactly the contrary sequence, i. e. the axis 5! is made to move along the are 11 and, simultaneously, the edge 12 is made to move away from the edge 10 by sliding it along 7. It is also possible-and that is the method to be preferred with this embodiment-to rotate the sleeve 8 in the anti-clockwise direction about the axis 2 for a certain angle, then to swing thissleeve about the edge 13, which is symmetrical to 10, so as to bring the extreme edge 14, which is symmetrical to 10, in contact with 7. Then the sleeve may be rotated about the edge 13 so as to cause the centre 9 of this sleeve to describe from 2 an arc of a circle concentric with 13.

The sleeve 8 is fitted with means, independent of the cylinder, for fastening blocks quickly and securely to this sleeve. This means can be of a known type and of the same kind as that used for fixing blocks to the cylinders of rotary presses. In the example shown, cylindrical holes 15, shown diagrammatically, are drilled in the sleeve to take special clamps 16 which hold down the blocks 17. One could naturally make use of any other known means of fixing the blocks to the cylinders of rotary presses, with this difference, that this means would not, as has been the ease up to now, be provided on the cylinder itself, but on the sleeve (for instance dovetail grooves cut in the sleeve and cooperating with tenons engaging in the blocks). In the drawing, only a few holes 15 are shown, that is those in which the clamps 16 are engaged. It must be understood that, in order to enable blocks to be fixed at will in any desired position to the sleeve, there are in reality a multitude of holes 15, evenly distributed over the whole of the lateral surface of the sleeve.

From what precedes, it may be seen that blocks may be fixed to a sleeve 8 while the rotary press is working. One need only have two sleeves, one of which is working to effect impressions, while the blocks are being fixed and adjusted to the other. The sleeve which has been at work is then removed from the cylinder, which only takes a short time, and is replaced by the other sleeve, on which the blocks have been previously adjusted and made ready.

The means provided to fix the sleeve (fitted with blocks and ready for the impression) removably to the cylinder and to remove it easily from the said cylinder without undoing the latter, will now be described. The cylinder 1 is provided internally with two series of transversal chambers 18 and 19, which alternate, as may be seen in Fig. 8. Each chamber 19 contains a mechanism such as that which may be seen in Figs. 2, 3 and comprising, on the one hand a catch 20 with a bevelled face 21 and sliding in a slot 22, in which are lodged compression springs 23 tending to push the catch 20 outwards (see Fig. 5). This catch extends over the whole length of the cylinder and is provided at each end with a pin 24, prolonging the catch and extending through an oblong hole 25 in the corresponding flange 4 and protruding slightly on the outside of the latter. These pins indicate the position of the catch. In order to simplify the drawing, the compression springs 23 have been omitted in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

The catch 20 is destined to cooperate with a slot 26 provided on the inside of the sleeve 8 near its right hand end, as seen in the drawing (Figs. 1 to 5). The direction in which the catch 20 moves is inclined on the radius of the drum passing through this catch in order to ensure, as will be seen later, a more secure fastening of the sleeve to the cylinder.

On the other hand, each chamber 19 is provided with a part 27 mounted on an eccentric 28 keyed to a shaft 29 extending over the Whole length of the cylinder and arranged to rotate in the flanges 4, which form bearings for it. At one end the shaft 29 is provided with a square part 30 enabling it to be maneuvered by means of a spanner. A radial pin 31, destined to cooperate with fixed stops 32, 33 provided on the flange 4, delimits the ends of the angular motion of the shaft 29.

The part 27 is fixed to a flexible metal blade 34, which forms a spring and is fixed on the other hand to a second catch 35, resting against a part 36 inside the chamber 19 and acted upon by a traction spring 37, which tends to keep it in contact with this part 36. The active part of the catch is visible at 38 and is destined to engage in a corresponding slot 39, provided on the inside sur- 4 face of the left hand end (in the Figs. 1 to 5) of the sleeve 8.

The means which has been described functions in the following manner:

The sleeve 8 having been fitted to the cylinder in the manner described above, is in the position shown in Fig. 2, and it is now required to secure it in that position in relation to the cylinder. In order to do this, one need only turn the eccentrics 28 by acting on the square part 30 of the shaft 29 by means of a spanner, so as to bring the pin 31 from its position of rest (in which it is in contact with the stop 33) to its active position (in which this pin is in contact with the stop 32) by a rotation of three quarters of a complete revolution. After the first quarter turn, the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 3, in which the part 38 of the catch 35 penetrates inside the sleeve but does not yet cooperate with the edge of the slot 39. Another half turn of the spanner and the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 4, in which the part 38 of the catch is pushed with considerable force against the inclined face of the slot 39. As for the catch 24, as soon as it comes opposite to the corresponding slot 26, it is driven into the latter by the springs 23, so that it then occupies the position shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. The sleeve is thus firmly fixed to the cylinder. To free it it is sufiicient to turn the shaft 29 back by three quarters of a turn, as shown by the arrow 40, and to make the sleeve 8 slide, as has been seen above, on the outside surface of the cylinder by rotating it about the axis 2 in the anti-clockwise direction in the drawing. The bevelled face 21 of the catch 20, by coming into contact with the edge 41 of the slot 26, enables this catch to be pushed back and efface itself.

The cylinder, thus fitted with the block-carrying sleeve as shown in Fig. 4, is now ready for impression. It is however evident, that in this case, a quarter of the periphery of the cylinder can effect no impression, as this part is taken up by the longitudinal channel 7 of the cylinder. When it is desired to use the whole of the periphery of the cylinder for impression, a complementary portion of a cylinder 42 is fitted into the channel 7 and, in juxtaposition with the cylinder 1, forms a complete geometrical cylinder, as may be seen in Fig. 5. This complementary portion of a cylinder is provided with a complementary piece 43, removably fastened to it. This piece 43 forms a quarter of a hollow cylinder, which in juxtaposition with the sleeve 8 forms a complete geometrical cylinder. In this case it may be said of the sleeve that it is formed by the two parts 8 and 43. The piece 43 carries members, such as 44, which are fixed to it in any appropriate manner. In the example shown, the complementary piece 43 is fixed to the portion of a cylinder 42 by means of dovetail grooves 45 provided on the inside surface of 43 and in which are engaged heads 46 of a complementary shape, which are fixed in a permanent fashion on the outer surface of 42.

The blocks such as 44 are naturally fitted to the piece 43 and adjusted to their exact working position away from the machine. It is therefore the piece 43 fitted with blocks ready for work which is fitted to the portion of a cylinder 42.

The fitting of the portion of a cylinder 42 necessarily takes place after the sleeve 8 has been fitted to and secured on the cylinder as shown in Fig. 4. The following means is provided to retain the portion of a cylinder 42 on the main body 1: a shaft 47 extends longitudinally along the whole length of 42 and can rotate about its own axis. This shaft is engaged in radial slots 48 which form bearings for it. At one end, the shaft is provided with a square hole destined to cooperate with a corresponding key 49 capable of turning for half a turn between a working position shown in Fig. 7 and an inactive position. A stop 50 limits the angular movement of this key. Each chamber 18 is provided with an eccentric part 51 of the shaft 47, a hook being fitted on this eccentric part. The

inactive position of the shaft 47 corresponds to the position of the hook 52 shown in Fig. 5, whereas the working position corresponds to Fig. An elastic metallic blade 53 is also arranged inside each chamber 18 and securely fixed to the cylinder 1 by screws 54. When the shaft 47 is in the position shown in Fig. 5, the hook 52 is not engaged with the blade53 and the assembly formed by the portion of a cylinder 42 and the complementary piece 43 is independent of 1 and of 8. By giving the shaft 47 a half turn from its inactive position,'the hooks 52 are brought, by the action of the eccentrics 51, to the position in which they cooperate with the blade 53. During the last part of this rotation of the shaft, the hook 52 exerts a substantially radial traction on the blade 53, and this has the result of effectively securing the complementary portion on the main body of the cylinder 1.

To ensure the exact positioning of the complementary portion of a cylinder 42 on the main part 1, the portion 42 is also provided with a key 56, fixed to this part 42 and destined to engage in a key-way 57 cut in the surface of the channel 7 (Fig. 5).

In the second embodiment, which is shown in Fig. 9, one sees a cylinder 58 with the two portions of shafting 59, 60 at its ends, and the two end flanges 61, 62 fixed to this cylinder by means of screws 63. The flange 62 is provided, on the face facing the cylinder, with an annular groove 64 the outer side 65 of which forms a conical surface. At its opposite end, the cylinder 58 is provided with longitudinal slots 66 and with an exterior screw thread 67. A nut 68 cooperates with the thread 67 and is provided with radial holes 69 enabling it to be rotated. The flange 61 is provided, in that part which is opposite to the nut 68, with an annular groove 70, which allows the nut to move towards the left in Fig. 9 when it is partially disengaged from the thread 67.

A ring 71 is also provided, which surrounds the cylinder 58 in that part of it which is provided with the slots 66. This ring is provided with radial projections which are permanently engaged in the slots 66. Compression springs 73 act on the ring 71 so as to push it up against the nut 68 and keep it constantly in contact with it. The side of the ring 71 removed from the nut is provided with an annular conical face 74 forming, so to speak, the counterpart of 65.

On the cylinder which has just been described is fitted in a removable manner a block-carrying sleeve 75, formed by at least two complementary parts each of which is in the shape of a portion of a hollow cylinder adapted to the cylinder 58. The sleeve 75 can be formed, for instance, by two half cylinders or by four complementary quarters of a cylinder.

At each of its two ends the sleeve is provided with an annular conical surface 76, 77, respectively. The surface 76 is destined to cooperate with the corresponding sur face 65, whereas the surface 77 is destined to cooperate with the corresponding conical surface 74.

As in the preceding embodiment, the members are secured to the various sections of the sleeve by any appropriate means, which are not shown, and this takes place away from the machine and without undoing the cylinder from the rotary press. The various portions of the sleeve are then placed on the cylinder and secured as will now be described. To begin with, the nut is moved completely over to the left in Fig. 9, so as to leave between the ring 71 and the flange 62 a space in the axial direction which is suificient to allow the portions of the sleeve 75 to be applied to the outside surface of the cylinder 58. This having been done, the nut 68 is screwed towards the right. The conical face 65 coming into contact with 77 pushes the sleeve 75 to the right until its conical face 76 rests against the corresponding conical face 65. A subsequent tightening up of the nut 68 has the effect of blocking the sleeve on the cylinder, and the machine is ready to work. To remove the sleeve, one need only unscrew the nut 68 until it has completely moved over to the left in the drawing.

In wrung o her mas a thes de cr bed f the quick and secure fastening of the blocks to the sleeve could be provided, and other means as those shown could be used to fasten the sleeve in a removable manner to the cylinder. The sleeve could also be formed by any number of sections fastened in a removable manner to the cylinder. In this case the sleeve could be divided into sections not only circumferentially but longitudinally also. In the first embodiment the sleeve 1 could extend over more than three quarters of the circumference.

It must be understood that the sleeves may be indifferently fitted with original blocks and at the same time with stereotype, galvanotype or other solid blocks having the same thickness as rotary press stereotype blocks.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 10 and 11, the cylinder 78, with its driving shaft 79 and flanges, one of which only is shown at 80, has a series of rectangular openings 81 in its lateral walls, these openings being arranged in rows parallel to the generants of the cylinder. Between the rows of openings 81 are rows of similar openings 82, differing from the former only in that their width is less (width measured in the peripheric direction of the cylinder). The cylinder is made of magnetic material, and pieces of non-magnetic metal are fitted in the openings 81 and 82, as will be described. A piece of non-magnetic material 83, the outer surface of which completes the cylindrical surface .of revolution of the cylinder 78, is placed in each opening 81. Another piece of non-magnetic material is placed in each opening 81 at its inner end. The pieces 83 and 85 are held in place in the opening 81 by clamping, by means of the threaded end 86 of a rod 87 and of a nut 88 screwed onto 86. The threaded end 86 is screwed into the piece 83 and the nut 88 presses on the piece 85, so that the pieces 83 and 85 clamp the shoulders 89 of the cylinder between them.

In each opening 82 are placed an outer piece 90 and an inner piece 91, both of these pieces being made of nonmagnetic material. These two pieces are held in place by means of screws 92. The pieces 90 have a surface which is a portion of a cylinder and completes the outer surface of the cylinder 78.

The middle portion of a permanent magnet 93 can slide on each rod 87, the two ends of this magnet being arranged to come each in contact with portions of the inner surface of the cylinder 78 comprised between an opening 81 and an opening 82. When the magnets are thus in contact with the cylinder 78, they are in their working position. In order to enable them to be withdrawn from this working position and brought to the position of rest shown by dots and dashes in Fig. 10 for one of those magnets, the following mechanism is provided:

In the example shown, six rows of magnets 93 are provided. Two control shafts 94 parallel to the axis of the cylinder and each able to turn in 95 in one of the flanges 80 are provided for each row of magnets. Each shaft 94 extends approximately over half the length of the cylinder and turns at one end in one of the flanges 80. At their other ends 96, these shafts turn in a transversal median rib 97 of the cylinder. Thme shafts are each provided at their outer end with a hexagonal head 98, destined to take a spanner, by means of which they can be turned for of a turn between a working position and a position of rest, as shown in 99 in Fig. 10. Each hexagonal head is provided with a set screw 100. Each shaft 94 carries levers 101 at the rate of a pair for each magnet controlled by this shaft 94. These levers are arranged at either end of the magnet and actuate a part 102, arranged inside the branches of the magnet 93, by means of connecting links 103.

The free end of each rod 87 is provided with an adjustable stop 104 formed by a washer and a nut, the latter being screwed onto a threaded terminal part of the rod 87.

When the shaft 94 is in one of its angular positions, the corresponding magnets 93 are in the working position shown by full lines in Fig. 10; for the other angular these magnets are forced to relinquish their contact with the cylinder and come to the position of rest shown by dotted and dashed lines in Fig. 10. The return to the working position is effected by turning the shaft 94 in the opposite direction.

In the drawing is shown a block-carrying sleeve formed by two parts 105, 106 of practically semi-cylindrical shape. This sleeve is made of magnetic metal and is put in place on the cylinder after it has been fitted with blocks, such as 107, correctly adjusted in their working position and fastened by any known appropriate means. To fix and secure the sleeve 105, 106 to the cylinder 78 one proceeds as follows: The magnets are first of all brought to their position of rest, i. e. away from the cylinder 73. One of the parts 105, 106 is fitted to the periphery of the cylinder 78 in the correct position. This having been done, all the magnets situated opposite to this part of the sleeve are brought to their working position. In this way, the magnetic circuit of the magnets is closed through this part of the sleeve and the region of the cylinder 78 comprised between the magnet and this part of the sleeve, so that the said sleeve is energetically applied to the periphery of the cylinder by the magnetic attraction. One then proceeds in the same manner with the other semicylinder and the machine is ready to function. Two strips 108 of non-magnetic material are provided to ensure the correct positioning of the half-sleeves 105, 106. These strips are fixed once and for all to two diametrically 0pposed pieces 90 by means of screws.

The parts made of non magnetic material mentioned above could, for instance, be made of hard brass.

The magnets must of course be sufiiciently powerful and in sufficient number to ensure that the block-carrying sleeves with their blocks 107 are held energetically on the cylinder with the desired security, in spite of the centrifugal force exerted when the machine is running. As each shaft 94 only controls a limited number of magnets, the efiort required of the operator to bring the magnets from their Working position to their position of rest is not exaggerated.

What I claim is:

1. A block carrying device for sheet or web fed rotary printing machines comprising a cylinder having a longitudinal channel therein, a complementary part adapted to fit into said channel to complete said cylinder, means removably attaching said complementary part to said cylinder, a hollow rigid two-part sleeve having an interior diameter equal to the diameter of said cylinder, means independent of said cylinder for fastening the blocks quickly and securely to the outer surface of said twopart sleeve, means removably fastening the first part of said sleeve to the cylinder, and means removably fastening the second part of said sleeve to the complementary part of said cylinder, said first part of the sleeve extending over more than half of the circumference of the cylinder.

2. A block carrying device as claimed in claim 1 in which said complementary part of said cylinder has a symmetrical cross section and the bottom of said channel is curved concavely with a diameter equal to the diameter of said cylinder.

3. A block carrying device as claimed in claim 1 in which the first part of said sleeve extends over at least seven tenths of the circumference of said cylinder.

4. A block carrying device as claimed in claim 1 in which the first part of said sleeve extends over three fourths of the circumference of said cylinder.

5. A block carrying device as claimed in claim 1 in which said cylinder is provided with catches, said sleeve having slots adjacent the edges thereof, said catches c0- operating with said slots retaining said sleeve firmly on said cylinder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,220,668 Meisel Mar. 27, 1917 1,524,071 White Ian. 27, 1925 1,916,777 Trist July 4, 1933 2,231,291 Morrison Feb. 11, 1941 2,413,174 Crafts et al. Dec. 24, 1946 

